Cherno
Bojang, the alkalo of Tanji village, yesterday testified in the trial involving
Lamin Waa Juwara, former Minister of Regional Administrations, Lands and
Traditional Rulers and two others, at the Banjul Magistrates’ Court before
Principal Magistrate Hilary Abeke
The other accused persons are Hamidou Jallow, Principal Lands and Evaluation Officer at the said Ministry, and Tamsir Onasis Konteh, a local businessman.
In his testimony, alkalo Bojang told the court that he knew the first accused person, Tamsir Onasis Conteh.
He noted that he has been the alkalo of Tanji since 2005 and before him, it was his late brother, MB Bojang, who was the alkalo of Tanji village.
He further told the court that as an alkalo, his role was to take care of the village and that if there was any problem, including land dispute, the alkalo needed to sort it out among the people.
“We do not have the power or mandate to sell any land at Tanji to the people without you being the rightful owner or member of your family,” the village head said.
Asked by the state prosecutor whether, as an alkalo, he does keep proper record of lands bought by the people in Tanji including his late brother.
“I do keep the records of any lands sold in Tanji since 2005 to dates, and for that of my late brother, I cannot say anything as we were not staying together. I was staying in Brufut village and he was staying in Tanji,” he said.
He also said that he normally gives anyone who bought lands from Tanji the original copy and he keeps the photocopy for his records.
He said he did not know anything about his late brother as to whether he used to keep the records or not.
Asked by state prosecutor whether his late brother had ever allocated to anyone a land in government Reserved Lands in Tanji, he told the court that he was not aware of his late brother allocating lands to anyone in the government Reserved Lands in Tanji.
“As an alkalo, I do not have the power or mandate to allocate anybody a land in government Reserved Lands and I am not aware of any,” Mr Bojang stated.
He added that he had never come across any papers which indicate his late brother allocating land to anybody in the government Reserved Lands in Tanji.
Asked again by the state prosecutor, Mansour Jobe, whether the first accused had ever informed him that he had a land in Tanji allocated to him by his late brother.
The village head stated that he knew nothing about that and the first accused person had never told him and he did not even know where the said land was located.
At that juncture, the case was adjourned till 29 January 2014, for cross examination.
